Topic of the Week - Nest boxes

[Lils Roost]

I recently moved my ladies to a new coop which is much brighter inside than their previous one. I quickly noticed the egg laying decrease and I knew the move was part of it. But, they did start laying out in the run which they'd never done before. So I put up curtains, of sorts. I took a plastic type feed bag (not paper) that has a dark colored side and a light one. I put the dark side toward the inside of the boxes and the normal laying started 2 or 3 days later. They'd never had curtains before so I'm sure that threw them off as well.

 

[igorsMistress]

I’ve tried everything. Boxes, bins and prefab boxes that attach to the coop walls, etc. My flock seems to prefer the corners in the coops, so we moved a couple of logs in there and attached some leftover particle board to the coop wall with hinges. The free ends rest against the logs at an angle so nobody can roost on top, but I can open the space up to collect eggs daily. This the absolute simplest method I’ve used. The girls have plenty of space, good air flow and their nests look like little straw bowls. All I need to do is refresh the straw from time to time.

It’s inevitable that when I have a broody it’s usually in the preferred nest box. I discourage broodiness by collecting the eggs every day. This is when my broody usually starts hiding her eggs in inconvenient places we can’t get to.

 

[Traffie Chickens]

Is there like a nesting box to hen ratio? Because I feel like my hens are always either standing in a line waiting to lay, or there is 2 hens in 1 nesting box.

 

[Shaste]

We only have 3 hens, with one communal nest box that is 12x30 attached at floor level to the exterior wall of the coop. It has a single small opening, about 8x10. Two hens can get in there and lay at the same time, but when we have a broody she tends to guard the entrance to keep the others out. If I were doing it over I would probably add two entrance holes one at either end.

 

[Ecarroll]

We use old nest boxes that we got from a farm because the bottoms had rusted out. But it’s perfect for us because our hens only need the five on the bottom not the top ones.

 

[igorsMistress]

Is there like a nesting box to hen ratio? Because I feel like my hens are always either standing in a line waiting to lay, or there is 2 hens in 1 nesting box.

One box per three hens is the recommended number I think, but additional areas are always a plus.

 

[Traffie Chickens]

One box per three hens is the recommended number I think, but additional areas are always a plus.

Alright thanks! We have 8 hens and three nesting boxes, so it seems like plenty.

 

[PoppasGrill]

We have store coops in the barn, 3 nests in each coop( also use lower / run section for isolation and chicks waiting on integration) and use straw in boxes. If we get broken eggs we scrape out the mess and put fresh straw in, or change straw every other week.
Tried plastic wall mounted boxes with pads, but only get a few eggs a week in them.

 

[igorsMistress]

Alright thanks! We have 8 hens and three nesting boxes, so it seems like plenty.

There’s always the favorite though, and inevitably a broody will use it

 

[lagrange chicks]

Mine are rollaway nest boxes I made, collect the eggs from outside the run/coop. I use astro turf for bedding in the nest boxes and the turf is easy to hose off when needed.